What Did You Do To Your 3rd Gen Today?

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Where was this junkyard donor? What area of the state are you in?

Sebago area, are we both talking Maine? The donor is at kurbside in OOB. There's a few there and one that was from CA fairly recently, but it's trashed and sitting on the ground with no wheels. I was able to drill two of my bolts and redo it. Working fine so far ��
 
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Pulled out my ultraguage Which has been in place 6 years ish. I’m going to use it temporarily in trying to get my new echo project going. Even though the 4Runner is 5 years older than the echo it is in so much better shape. The po’s of the echo seemed to do nothing at all to the poor car. At least it was priced accordingly.
 
Removed the 304,000 mile rack&pinion. My 4wd conversion is costing more than expected because I'm pretty much replacing every piece of rubber under the Runner....
QbIXLRO.jpg

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Removed the 304,000 mile rack&pinion. My 4wd conversion is costing more than expected because I'm pretty much replacing every piece of rubber under the Runner....

It's totally worth it though. Plus you've got easier access now than you ever will later. Keep up the good work!
 
Only had time for some quick and dirty pics right after mounting, but I finished up a grille mod as well as blacked out my bumper!
 

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I removed the cap on the stock bottle Jack to make it fit my Safejack 3” extension and frame/axle adapter. The best part is everything including the bottle jack base plate fits under the rear seat next to the stock jack location!
 
Sebago area, are we both talking Maine? The donor is at kurbside in OOB. There's a few there and one that was from CA fairly recently, but it's trashed and sitting on the ground with no wheels. I was able to drill two of my bolts and redo it. Working fine so far ��

Sweet, I am down near Arundel so not too far from you and super close to the vehicles being parted. There's one being parted right around the corner from me but it's good to keep an eye on the options for the inevitable needed parts.
 
My 97 finally blew up on me. It popped the drivers side head gasket on cylinder 4. Unfortunately it blew 1000 miles from home just outside of boise Idaho:dammit: it made it until 365,000 miles though. During the tear down I pulled the valve covers off and was incredibly surprised with how the heads/valve train looked. I have only used mobil 1 full synthetic for the last 100,000 and changed it religiously at 5000-7500 miles. I swear by the stuff now.

Untitled by austin jenkins, on Flickr
Untitled by austin jenkins, on Flickr

and the head gasket failure
Untitled by austin jenkins, on Flickr
Untitled by austin jenkins, on Flickr
My valvetrain and pistons look EXTREMELY similar and I'm at damn near 300k, and also have been cleaning it religiously... Very nerve racking. Worst fear is something like this happening out of the blue
Maybe swap it? :noidea: I've always thought a procharged 2J in a 4runner would be so sick, personally
Always wondered, is there any old tricks to testing when your head gasket will go? I assume not, just by how engines are set up, but I'd like to be as preventative as I feasibly can
 
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Newcomer & First Projects

Been looking to get a rig for myself after driving around a '70 Chevelle that has been my DD since high school. Love the car, will have it forever, but it doesn't get me to the mountains.

Bought a 2002 SR5 Sport Edition in Thundercloud with 190k miles, decent maintenance records and an all new transmission at 170k for $7k.

Even before I bought the truck I was snooping this forum. Knew I wanted to try my hand at doing all the work on it myself, saw how good the DIY resources were and that gave me confidence. Had my pops garage fully stocked and at my disposal, this summer was the opportunity to use it.

Here are the big and small first projects. Huge shout out to the following build threads for guiding/inspiring me:

Ryance39

4-Ripcord

Speedy

mtbtim AKA Timmy the Toolman

Pretty much did all my projects using Timmy's and Speedy's videos.

Pictures below. Once I'm allowed to start my own thread (need more replies) I'll start one and describe in detail how I did each project, what resources I used, mistakes to look out for, and more detailed pictures.

The Projects (so far) in order I tackled them:
Project 1: Fluids & Upkeep
Transmission Fluid Flush
Cooling System Flush
New Radiator (OEM)
New In-Line Transmission Cooler & Filter
New Air Filter
New Sparkplugs & Wires

Project 2: Full interior Strip, Clean, Sound Deadening and New Carpet

Project 3: ~2-3 inch lift Blister 5100s with TRD in Front & OME 890 in Back

Note: Just buy the damn things pre-assembled with a new top plate, NOT worth it trying to line up the springs with the top mount

Project 4: Paint 5 star wheels and mount 285/75/16s

Next Up: Tundra Brake Upgrade

Small Projects:
Remove Brush Guard
Replace Headlight
Bumper Tow Hitch Cover replace and paint
Scanguage II
Plastidip Emblems
Blacked out tail lights (removed, it was stupid)
SpriderTrax 1.25"

More Photos Here: Kendrick Brown | Flickr
 

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I replaced my rusty old driver side rear bumper panel with a new OEM one! I also re-installed the passenger side front fender liner with new clips since I had broken the old ones when installing my snorkel.
 
That’s a respectable mileage to get to before a major mechanical issue. What was your coolant maintenance like?

It wasn’t great haha, Last coolant flush was when I did the timing belt about 85,000 miles ago. Coolant had no rusty tinge though, but my negligence definitely contributed to the failure.
 
My valvetrain and pistons look EXTREMELY similar and I'm at damn near 300k, and also have been cleaning it religiously... Very nerve racking. Worst fear is something like this happening out of the blue
Maybe swap it? :noidea: I've always thought a procharged 2J in a 4runner would be so sick, personally
Always wondered, is there any old tricks to testing when your head gasket will go? I assume not, just by how engines are set up, but I'd like to be as preventative as I feasibly can

Frequent oil changes help a ton to keep the motor clean! Leak down and compression tests are good ways to get a rough idea of how a head gasket is, but there’s no sure way to know until it goes. I wouldn’t loved to due a Motor swap of time and money allowed. But now I’m just gonna see how many miles I can rack up on this pig haha! Shooting for 500,000 at least
 
Been looking to get a rig for myself after driving around a '70 Chevelle that has been my DD since high school. Love the car, will have it forever, but it doesn't get me to the mountains.

Bought a 2002 SR5 Sport Edition in Thundercloud with 190k miles, decent maintenance records and an all new transmission at 170k for $7k.

Even before I bought the truck I was snooping this forum. Knew I wanted to try my hand at doing all the work on it myself, saw how good the DIY resources were and that gave me confidence. Had my pops garage fully stocked and at my disposal, this summer was the opportunity to use it.

Here are the big and small first projects. Huge shout out to the following build threads for guiding/inspiring me:

Ryance39

4-Ripcord

Speedy

mtbtim AKA Timmy the Toolman

Pretty much did all my projects using Timmy's and Speedy's videos.

Pictures below. Once I'm allowed to start my own thread (need more replies) I'll start one and describe in detail how I did each project, what resources I used, mistakes to look out for, and more detailed pictures.

The Projects (so far) in order I tackled them:
Project 1: Fluids & Upkeep
Transmission Fluid Flush
Cooling System Flush
New Radiator (OEM)
New In-Line Transmission Cooler & Filter
New Air Filter
New Sparkplugs & Wires

Project 2: Full interior Strip, Clean, Sound Deadening and New Carpet

Project 3: ~2-3 inch lift Blister 5100s with TRD in Front & OME 890 in Back

Note: Just buy the damn things pre-assembled with a new top plate, NOT worth it trying to line up the springs with the top mount

Project 4: Paint 5 star wheels and mount 285/75/16s

Next Up: Tundra Brake Upgrade

Small Projects:
Remove Brush Guard
Replace Headlight
Bumper Tow Hitch Cover replace and paint
Scanguage II
Plastidip Emblems
Blacked out tail lights (removed, it was stupid)
SpriderTrax 1.25"

More Photos Here: Kendrick Brown | Flickr

Dang thats a pretty clean truck for that price. Good luck on your future endeavors. Hope you enjoy it!
 
Hello from Australia

Just picked up a 1997 toyota hilux surf ssr x last week
It has the 1kz turbo diesel
Auto trans
Took it for a test 4x4 over the weekend and i have discovered a issue with reverse
Under load ie reverse up a hill the car makes a horrible screech noise.
I have done a wee bit of searching and have not found a common fault, some peoole say they have the same issue and then the thread dies off without getting a answer

I put the video on youtube so you can have a listen
Toyota 3rd generation 4runner / hilux surf screech in reverse gear - YouTube

Let me know what you think
 
Been looking to get a rig for myself after driving around a '70 Chevelle that has been my DD since high school. Love the car, will have it forever, but it doesn't get me to the mountains.

Bought a 2002 SR5 Sport Edition in Thundercloud with 190k miles, decent maintenance records and an all new transmission at 170k for $7k.

Even before I bought the truck I was snooping this forum. Knew I wanted to try my hand at doing all the work on it myself, saw how good the DIY resources were and that gave me confidence. Had my pops garage fully stocked and at my disposal, this summer was the opportunity to use it.

Here are the big and small first projects. Huge shout out to the following build threads for guiding/inspiring me:

Ryance39

4-Ripcord

Speedy

mtbtim AKA Timmy the Toolman

Pretty much did all my projects using Timmy's and Speedy's videos.

Pictures below. Once I'm allowed to start my own thread (need more replies) I'll start one and describe in detail how I did each project, what resources I used, mistakes to look out for, and more detailed pictures.

The Projects (so far) in order I tackled them:
Project 1: Fluids & Upkeep
Transmission Fluid Flush
Cooling System Flush
New Radiator (OEM)
New In-Line Transmission Cooler & Filter
New Air Filter
New Sparkplugs & Wires

Project 2: Full interior Strip, Clean, Sound Deadening and New Carpet

Project 3: ~2-3 inch lift Blister 5100s with TRD in Front & OME 890 in Back

Note: Just buy the damn things pre-assembled with a new top plate, NOT worth it trying to line up the springs with the top mount

Project 4: Paint 5 star wheels and mount 285/75/16s

Next Up: Tundra Brake Upgrade

Small Projects:
Remove Brush Guard
Replace Headlight
Bumper Tow Hitch Cover replace and paint
Scanguage II
Plastidip Emblems
Blacked out tail lights (removed, it was stupid)
SpriderTrax 1.25"

More Photos Here: Kendrick Brown | Flickr

looking good, what ift on it now ?
 
5100s all around. TRD Tundra Springs in the Front. OME 890 in the back.

Nice! This is exactly the setup I've been thinking about going with. Good to see another example of the stance. Looks beautiful.

The only thing I worry about it is how the weight of steel bumpers will affect the height. Do you have any plans for doing that, or have you heard any info about that regarding this specific setup?
 
I went with this setup specifically for my future plans.

I've seen a lot of guys who run stock bumpers with TRD fronts and 906 backs (check out Ryance39's or Speedy's build). It looks great, even or maybe a bit of forward rake, they say the ride is great, maybe a bit squishy in the back when loaded down. You'll see I have a pretty aggressive rake (its close to 2 inches higher in the back right now), but that was planned. 1. I dig the forward leaning stance aesthetics. 2. I've heard the 890s will settle about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch over the first six months and 3. I plan on loading down the back a bunch with a sleep platform, gear, and a rear steel bumper with a swing out arm to carry a full size spare and gas. That's a good amount of weight that will be better supported by 890s than 906s (if my research has been correct). I really dig the fat lip bumper and don't plan on going with a high clearance/aftermarket front bumper so that lift should maintain its height.

As of right now, the ride is fantastic compared to stock. The thing was so stiff when I got it, every little bump was a jolt, felt like a sports car. Now its smooth. Maybe a bit more side to sway at high speeds (always going to have some with a lift), but the ride is so much nicer and when I lean into a corner it handles way better.

Hope this helps. Also - don't try to reuse the top plate. Took me two full days when I could have just got them pre-assembled, skipped all the spring compression, and only would have cost me $40 bucks more.
 
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